Fullmetal Earl
by BloodyRose1979
Summary: Earl Edward Elric comes across a mysterious individual in the Xingese desert after a business trip to Xing. He decided to take the stranger in, not knowing the events this will result in. Will Edward and his household survive? And what of the stranger? Edward/OC. Slash. AU.
1. Prologue

**_Author Note: My first yaoi fanfic. I'm posting this to see what kind of reactions I'll get before I decide to finish it. I used Black Butler to get started but there will be no demons and no alchemy for that matter but there will be certain elements of FMA in there. I'm not so sure on the summary, I might change it in the future._**

Chapter 1: Prologue

"Master…" A blond young man looked up from his desk at the doorway. He raised his eyebrow at the dark haired man in the doorway.

"What is it Roy?" He asked, noting the displeasure on the other man's face and the formal address.

"You have a visitor." The young man leaned back in his seat with a sigh.

"Very well." He rose from his chair and walked around to the front of his desk. "Let them in." Roy nodded then stepped into the room so he could stand to the side of the doorway so the visitor could enter. Another dark haired man entered the room behind him. He was dressed in a white business suit with a white hat. He reached up and removed the hat before giving a faint bow. It was Solf J. Kimblee, Viscount and owner of the Crimson company.

"It is nice to see you Earl of Light." Kimblee said with a friendly smile.

"You as well, Viscount." The Earl replied, hiding the cringe at his own title. "What, may I ask, brings you here?" He asked as he gestured to the seating area a little away from his desk.

"Why business of course." The Viscount replied as he took a seat. He waited till the other man was seated before continuing. "I'm sure you noticed that there has been a disturbance with sales in Xing with my company and yours…as well as others." He sighed and slouched in his chair slightly. "It's a big concern of course but my men are so focused on other issues that I can't send anyone to investigate. I was wondering if you could." The Earl inwardly frowned along with Roy, who still stood by the doorway but smiled after a moment.

"I had considered sending someone myself…I don't think it will be much trouble to send someone to investigate on both our accounts."

"I'm much obliged." The Viscount rose from his chair. "I'd hate to run out so rudely but there is other business that I need to tend to."

"That's fine. You are a busy man after all." The Earl also rose and shook hands with the other man. ""Roy, would you mind escorting the Viscount out so he doesn't lose his way." He addressed the other man.

"Not at all." Roy bowed then followed the Viscount out the room, closing the door behind him. The Earl openly frowned at the door then stormed over to look out the window that was behind his desk. Roy returned not too long later.

"Gone?"

"Gone." Roy nodded, preparing for the outburst he knew was to come.

"That lazy bastard. Didn't want to send one of his men so he decided to come here and ask me to. The nerve…he knows that we're owners of rivaling companies." The Earl's words were quiet but hateful.

"Yet you still agreed to it." Roy spoke up without hesitation.

"It's better that I send someone. He'd probably have his men sabotage my sales while there." Roy didn't say anything to dispute that.

"Who are you going to send?" He asked the young man once he calmed down. He was silent as he considered his options.

"Ling is still visiting right?"

"Yes."

"Probably waiting to steal something from the kitchen." The Earl chuckled.

"Jean won't like that." Roy said, clearly amused.

"No he won't." The Earl responded with a fond smile. He walked away from the window and left the room with Roy close behind him. They made their way towards the kitchen as they continued to discuss what to do.

"Maes is still dealing with the issues that came about with the sudden deaths in Ishval so we can't send him."

"And Breda is still negotiating trade with Drachma." Roy contributed.

"That doesn't leave us with a lot of options." The Earl's musings were interrupted when someone suddenly ran around the corner and slammed into him. Thankfully, he didn't fall over since Roy was there to stop his descent. They looked down and saw a small child on the ground, clearly the one who had run into him. The Earl kneeled down to check on the boy. The boy was startled but uninjured.

"Damian!" They all looked up as a woman came around the corner. She stopped when she saw them than ran forward when she spotted the small boy. "Damian, I told you not to go running off on your own." The boy whispered an apology and let the woman pick him up. "I'm sorry Edward." The woman apologized to the Earl.

"It's fine Gracia…he's one of the new ones right? He just doesn't know all the rules yet." Gracia nodded then walked back the way she had come with the boy in her arms.

"I still can't believe you turned part of the estate into an orphanage." Roy said with a smile.

"What else was I supposed to use all that extra space for?" Edward asked as they started walking again. Roy shrugged then ruffled the young man's hair.

"Hey!" Edward protested as he tried to escape his butler's teasing hand.

Roy laughed then let the young man distance himself from him. Edward glared playfully at him as he attempted to fix his messed up hair.

"Sir." Both looked ahead of them and saw a blonde woman walking towards them.

"What is it Riza?" Edward asked as he stopped in front of her.

"She's back again." Riza said with a frown. Edward let out a long sigh as he ran his hand over his face.

"I'll handle this." He said before storming off in the direction of the front entrance.

"That girl just won't quit." Roy said to Riza.

"But neither will he." She responded.

"No…he won't." Roy smiled fondly as they followed after their master.

Edward yanked the front door open, surprising the dark-skinned young woman who stood on the other side.

"Rose…I told you to stop coming here." He snarled at her.

"I won't stop until you let me teach those children the ways of the lord." Rose responded, unyielding. Edward let out another sigh.

"Rose…I respect that you wish to waste your time worshiping an entity that doesn't exist but I won't have you forcing those ideals on the children." Edward's voice was now more tired than angry.

"I won't be forcing them." Rose responded, choosing to ignore Edward's claim that religion was a waste of time.

"If you're not going to force them then why do keep coming here, demanding me to let you teach them? If they want to learn religion then they will come to you…I won't stop them." Rose was silent so he continued. "Please don't come back…I don't want to have to file a restraining order on you. Goodbye." Edward closed the door without waiting for her response. Edward turned away from the door and found Roy and Riza watching him. Jean was also there, smoking a cigarette.

"You know…I don't think she comes here for the children anymore." Jean smirked at Edward. "She probably comes because she likes you." Jean and Roy laughed at Edward's blushing face.

"She has bad taste." Roy said to Jean as if Edward wasn't there.

"It'd never work out." Jean said back.

"Yeah, he'd probably mess up." The two burst out laughing.

"Cut it out!" Edward yelled at them, his face red from anger and embarrassment.

"Just ignore them." Riza said to the fuming blond. "They're just teasing you."

"Yeah…we know you'd never date her." Roy assured him.

"She doesn't even stand a chance…since you like guys." Jean said then flinched at his own choice of words.

"Remind me why you aren't in the kitchen." Edward spoke tensely.

"Didn't want to miss the drama." Jean replied hoping to lighten Edward's mood.

"But while you're here…Ling is probably making off with whatever you made for dinner." Edward smirked, choosing to let the man off the hook. Jean paled.

"Oh hell no!" He yelled as he ran off.

"No smoking while inside!" Edward yelled after him. Riza shook her head then walked off to continue her duties. Edward started walking towards his personal quarters this time, instead of the kitchen.

"When are you going to talk to Ling?" Roy asked, noticing the change in destination.

"After dinner. Right now I need to pack."

"Pack?" Roy looked curiously at Edward.

"I'm going with Ling to investigate." Edward explained.

"No." Roy stopped walking, prompting Edward to stop as well. Edward looked back at him then turned to face him.

"You know that I can't send Ling by himself…he needs to be supervised."

"Surely you could send someone else." Roy nearly pleaded.

"Who?" Edward asked, knowing what Roy was going to say.

"Falman."

"He's not cut out for this kind of work." Edward immediately protested.

"Then send me." Roy stood there staring at his master with determination.

"You've never been to Xing and my connection there won't talk to unfamiliar faces."

"But what about the desert? You can't possibly travel through that." Roy continued.

"I've done it before." Edward calmly reminded his worried butler.

"Yes…and returned with badly burnt skin on your right shoulder." Roy spoke tensely, staring at said shoulder.

"I wasn't fully prepared but I will be this time." Edward said in defense. "I'm going and that's final." Edward turned and continued on his way.

"Then I'm coming too." Roy said before the other got too far away. Edward stopped and looked back at him. Seeing that there wasn't anything he could say to deter him, he sighed then nodded. He smirked at him after a moment.

"It'll be tough…think you can handle it?" Roy smirked back at him as he responded.

"If you can handle it then so can I. In fact…it will be you trying to keep up with me, Fullmetal." Edward snorted then smiled at the nickname that Roy had given him just because he was the owner of Fullmetal Enterprises.

"Go pack then. We'll discuss the journey further after dinner." Edward walked off to prepare as Roy did the same.

**Author Note: I hope none of you will give me a hard time about making Roy Edward's butler. I wanted to see if I could make it work and I think that it does so far. I had a hard time figuring out when to put Edward's name in so I ended up writing "the Earl" over and over.**

**Also let's pretend that Ling isn't a prince in this story okay.**

**I don't hate Rose so please don't think that I do. I just thought that this is how she would act.**

**The reason Edward is called the Earl of Light will be explained but I'm sure you guys can figure it out.**

**Please Review.**


	2. The Stranger

**Author Note: Here we go.**

**Disclaimer: FMA and its characters belong to Hiromu Arakawa.**

Chapter 2: The Stranger

"To think we went all that way over such an obvious problem." Edward groaned as he made his way back across the desert.

"The black market is common everywhere…still we couldn't let it continue when it came to our products." Roy tiredly responded. Edward just groaned again. Both were drained of energy because of the immense heat but thankfully Edward wasn't getting burned like last time.

"We're almost there so cheer up." Ling cheerfully said, seemingly not affected by the heat. Edward glared at him but didn't have the energy to do anything else. Bored beyond belief, Edward resigned himself to looking around at the unchanging scenery. He spotted a dark blob not too far away. He stopped the horse as he stared at it.

"What's that?" He asked as he started towards it, drawing the attention of the others. They stopped and looked where he was looking.

"I don't know." Roy stared at it curiously as he directed his horse to follow after Edward. When they got closer they saw that it was a person lying in the sand.

"Hmm." Ling hummed then started back to continue their journey.

"Where are you going?" Edward called after him.

"It's a dead body…there are many here." Ling spoke indifferently. "Many try to travel through the desert without escorts and don't bring enough supplies with them."

"This person doesn't have any with him." Roy noted. Edward glared at Ling then got off his horse. He kneeled next to the body and pushed it so that it was lying on its back. A mess of black hair covered the person's face but he ignored that, instead he focused on determining if the person was really dead…he wasn't.

"Roy! Help me get him on the horse!" Edward urgently called to his butler who quickly got off and ran to his master's side. Ling also galloped over, knowing that the urgency in Edward's voice meant the person was still alive. Together they managed to get the man onto Roy's horse with Roy behind him to hold him in place. They all quickly galloped towards the edge of the desert, which, thankfully, wasn't at all far. They made it to an inn where they rented a room so they could tend to the stranger. Roy and Ling got everything they needed while Edward remained by the stranger's side to monitor him.

Edward wetted a cloth and brushed the hair aside to place it on the person's forehead but stopped at what he saw. The person looked to be about his age but what really made him stop was that there were all kinds of scars, mostly burn marks, around the person's left eye and on the eyelid. Used to the sight of scars, Edward was unfazed by it so he just rested the wet cloth on the man's forehead and continued monitoring him. Hours later, the stranger finally stirred. He woke up groggy and disoriented. However, he immediately knew that he wasn't alone in the room. The other occupant's back was turned to him as he ruffled through a pack. The stranger's hand shot up to cover his eye when he noticed that it was on display.

"Don't bother…I already saw." Edward said as he kept his back to the person as he continued to search through his pack. The stranger flinched and grimaced but still swept his bangs so his eye could be covered. Having found what he was looking for, Edward turned to face the stranger and was met with a startling blue eye. Edward was momentarily struck silent and immobile by the color and emotions there. After a moment he walked forward and offered him his water container. The stranger uncertainly reached forward and took it. He took small sips then gave it back to Edward when he was done. Edward put it on the side table then sat down on the foot of the bed. The stranger tensed but didn't stop him.

"What's your name?" Edward asked carefully.

"Carter." He spoke after a minute of uncertain silence.

"Edward." Edward introduced himself but made no move to shake hands, aware that being this close was bad enough to the stranger. "What were you doing out there without any supplies?" Carter looked away without answering. "You could have died." Edward prodded.

"Maybe that's why." Carter mumbled to himself as if he didn't know the answer.

"You wanted to die?" Edward asked. Carter's silence was enough of an answer. Edward sighed as he ran a hand over his face. "It's obvious that you've gone through a lot." Edward glanced at the covered eye before continuing. "But that is no reason to give up on living."

"That's easy to say."

"You're right…it is easy to say and most people who say it don't actually take their own advice. Thankfully…" Edward reached up and began rolling up the sleeve of his right arm. "I'm not one of them." Carter's gaze instantly shot to the gleaming metal that was Edward's right arm. After a minute he looked into Edward's eyes with wonder. Edward smiled at him as he offered his left hand. "Would you like to come with me until you figure out where you'll go?" Carter looked back at Edward's automail then at his offered hand. He slowly reached forward and clasped it. Still smiling, Edward gripped his hand tightly but tenderly. Carter looked back at Edward's face and felt a stir in his chest. Things didn't seem so dark anymore.

**Author Note: What exactly happened in Xing isn't really important so I skipped it…hope you don't mind. Hope I didn't make Ling seem like a heartless jerk.**

**Don't know what else to say other than I hope I can give my oc a different personality than my other oc.**

**Please review so I can decide whether to finish this or not.**


	3. Sudden Change

**Author Note: I decided to combine this chapter with the next one so I hope you will reread this.**

**I haven't got any review yet but I decided to see how far I can go with this story.**

**Disclaimer: FMA and its characters belong to Hiromu Arakawa except Carter.**

Chapter 3: Sudden Change

"Edward. We're back." Roy called as he opened the door, startling the two men sitting on the bed. Carter tensed and ducked his head as Roy and Ling entered the room. Roy briefly glanced at him before addressing his master. "I see he's awake now."

"Yup…" Edward smiled at Carter before continuing. "His name's Carter."

"So you've already asked him why he was in the desert?" Roy asked, frowning when Edward just nodded instead of telling him what he had found out.

"This is Roy and this is Ling." Edward told Carter as he gestured to each man. Carter peered at them through his bangs then quickly looked back down.

"So what are we going to do now?" Ling asked.

"We're going to head back to the estate." Edward informed them as he rose from the bed.

"What about him?" Roy asked, looking at Carter who tensed.

"He's coming with us."

"What?" Roy spoke, clearly shocked. He turned towards Edward, waiting for him to explain.

"He's going to be staying with us until he figures out what he is going to do."

"No." Roy protested. "We don't even know who he is…he could be a serious threat."

"He's coming with us Roy." Edward spoke tensely, upset by Roy's reaction.

"But-"

"Roy!" Roy and Ling both tensed at the seriousness in Edward's voice. "I said he's coming with us. I don't want anymore objections from you." Edward was clearly giving Roy an order that was not to be ignored. Roy stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes; for as long as he has know Edward he had never reminded anyone in his household that he was in charge and therefore should be obeyed nor had he treated them as he was treating him now. Edward continued to glare at him, daring him to object further. Roy suppressed his confusion and hurt and gave him a bow.

"As you wish." He made sure his voice was emotionless and polite so as not to invoke his master's anger further. He rose from the bow and quickly left the room. Ling winced as Roy slammed the door shut behind me. He looked at Edward who sighed.

"Do you want me to go after him?" Ling asked uncertainly.

"No…I'll deal with this." Edward opened the door but stopped in the doorway. He glanced back at a startled, slightly fearful Carter. He gave him an apologetic smile then asked Ling to help Carter get ready to go. He closed the door behind him as he went off to make amends with Roy.

It wasn't hard to find Roy since there weren't a lot of places in this small village where one could be alone. He came up behind the man as he sat hunched on a lone bench.

"Roy…I…" Edward found he didn't really know how to go about apologizing. Thankfully, Roy started talking.

"I just don't understand…Why now?" Roy spoke softly with his back to Edward. "All these years you've treated me like an equal…sure you've given me orders but…never like that." He hunched forward a bit more. Edward sighed then took a seat next to him. He mirrored Roy's posture and kept his gaze on his hands.

"I'm sorry…" He finally managed to say, making Roy look at him. "I don't really know what came over me there." Edward clasped his hands together as he thought back to what had happened. "I want to help him Roy." Roy leaned back and gave him a curious look. "He's clearly been through a lot and he's so much like how I was all those years ago…" Edward's grip tightened as memories came back but he managed to stay focused on the present. "For a moment it felt like you were trying to stop me from helping him…from helping myself…and…I'm sorry."

"You should have told me."

"I know…"

"But…I should have had more faith in you too." Edward looked at Roy in surprise. "I should have known that you had a good reason…I'm sorry." Roy flashed Edward a smile before looking at the distance again. "I'm still not okay with this."

"I know…but I want to help him find a reason to go on living…like you did for me." Edward gave him that dazzling smile that showed just how grateful he was. Roy sighed in resignation then smiled fondly.

"Alright…I trust you know what you're doing." Edward hopped off the bench.

"Don't I always?" Edward gave him another bright smile before heading back towards the inn. Roy chuckled and slowly rose from the bench to follow after his beloved master.

**Author Note: ****I hope Edward's explanation made sense. I liked having this bonding between the two and I like that I figured out how to show how close they are.**

**I hope I get back into the habit of writing longer chapters.**

**Please Review.**


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